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{{Short description|Non-governmental organization}}
{{pp-30-500extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox organization
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| logo = UN Watch logo.png
| logo_size = 175px
| motto = "Monitoring the United Nations, Promoting Human Rights"<ref>[http://www.unwatch.org/atf/cf/%7B6DEB65DA-BE5B-4CAE-8056-8BF0BEDF4D17%7D/LETTERS_WITH_JOINT_NGO_RESOLUTION_11_2_07.PDF ''UN Watch'': Letter to His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, The Secretary-General of The United Nations]. 2 November 2007.</ref>
| type = Non-governmental organization<ref name=AboutUs />
| founded = 1993<ref name=AboutUs />
| location = [[Geneva]], Switzerland<ref name=AboutUs />
| key_people = [[Alfred H. Moses]], ''Chair'';<ref name=AboutUs /><br />[[Per Ahlmark]], David A. Harris, ''Co-Chairs'';<ref name=AboutUs /><br />[[Hillel Neuer]], ''Executive Director''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unwatch.org/site/c.bdKKISNqEmG/b.1313595/k.39ED/Executive_Director_Hillel_Neuer.htm |title=''UN Watch'': Executive Director Hillel Neuer |publisher=Unwatch.org |date=16 December 2006 |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref><br />[[Morris B. Abram]], ''Founder''<ref name=founder/>
| fields = UN monitoring, human rights advocacy
| fields = United Nations,<ref name=AboutUs /> Human rights<ref name=AboutUs /> and struggle against anti-Semitism<ref name="antisemtism report">{{cite journal|title=The United nations and Anti-Semitism – 2004–2007 Report Card|url=http://www.unwatch.org/atf/cf/%7B6DEB65DA-BE5B-4CAE-8056-8BF0BEDF4D17%7D/UNW_THE_UN_AND_ANTI_SEMITISM_04_07_REPORT_CARD.PDF|access-date=19 October 2013}}</ref>
| services =
| num_members =
| homepage = {{URL|http://www.unwatch.org}}
}}
'''UN Watch''' is a Geneva-based [[non-governmental organization]] (NGO) whose stated mission is "to monitor the performance of the [[United Nations]] by the yardstick of [[United Nations Charter|its own Charter]]".<ref name=AboutUs>{{cite web |url=http://www.unwatch.org/site/c.bdKKISNqEmG/b.1313591/k.954F/Mission__History.htm |title=Mission and History |work=UN Watch |access-date=7 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126143442/http://www.unwatch.org/site/c.bdKKISNqEmG/b.1313591/k.954F/Mission__History.htm |archive-date=26 November 2011 }}</ref> It is an accredited NGO in Special Consultative Status to the UN [[United Nations Economic and Social Council|Economic and Social Council]] and an Associate NGO to the UN [[Department of Public Information]].<ref>[http://www.unwatch.org/site/c.bdKKISNqEmG/b.1313591/k.954F/Mission__History.htm Mission & History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126143442/http://www.unwatch.org/site/c.bdKKISNqEmG/b.1313591/k.954F/Mission__History.htm |date=26 November 2011 }}, UN Watch</ref>
 
[[Agence France-Presse]] has described UN Watch as "a lobby group with strong ties to Israel".<ref name="GazaAFP" /> The organisation has been active in combatingdenouncing [[human rights]] abuses worldwide, for instance in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] and, [[Darfur]], and has been vocal against abuses in regimes such as China, Cuba, Russia and Venezuela, often using its allotted time at the [[United Nations Human Rights Council|UNHRC]] to allow for [[dissidents]] and [[human rights activists]] to speak. Primarily, UN Watch is frequently critical ofdenounces what it views as [[Israel, Palestine, and the United Nations|anti-Israel]] and [[antisemitic]] sentiment at the UN and UN-sponsored events.<ref name="jewishtimes.com">{{cite web |date=18 April 2009 |title=Pro-Israel Activists Set To Do Battle At Durban II |url=http://www.jta.org/2009/04/06/news-opinion/world/pro-israel-activists-set-to-do-battle-at-durban-ii |title=Proaccess-Israeldate=7 ActivistsDecember Set To Do Battle At Durban II2011 |work=Jewish Times |date=18 April 2009 |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref><ref name="jta.org">{{cite web |date=8 September 2008 |title=U.N. rights chief praises Durban II |url=http://www.jta.org/2008/09/08/life-religion/features/u-n-rights-chief-praises-durban-ii |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |title=U.N. rights chief praises Durban II |access-date=87 SeptemberDecember 20082011 |access-datework=7Jewish DecemberTelegraphic 2011Agency}}</ref>
 
The group has been praised by former [[UN Secretary General]] [[Kofi Annan]],<ref name=kofi1/><ref name=kofi2/> and the Director General of the UN Office in Geneva [[Sergei Ordzhonikidze]] has acknowledged "the valuable work of UN Watch in support of the just application of values and principles of the United Nations Charter and support for human rights for all."<ref name=sergei/> [[Agence France-Presse]] has described UN Watch both as "a lobby group with strong ties to Israel"<ref name=GazaAFP /> and as a group which "champion[s] human rights worldwide".
 
==Founding==
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In 2001, Harris announced that UN Watch had become a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Jewish Committee. According to a press release at the time, “UN Watch was established with the generous assistance of Edgar Bronfman, President of the World Jewish Congress. Eighteen months ago, the American Jewish Committee and the World Jewish Congress reached an agreement, approved by the international board of UN Watch, to transfer full control of the organization to AJC, an agreement that went into effect on January 1, 2001.”<ref name="UN Watch, AJC Seal Partnership"/>
 
Since 2013, UN Watch claimed it is no longer affiliated with AJC and is an independent organization.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unwatch.org/about-us/mission-history/|title=Mission & History}}</ref>
 
==Structure and status==
UN Watch participates at the UN as an accredited NGO in Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as an Associate NGO to the UN Department of Public Information (DPI). It is affiliated with the [[American Jewish Committee]],.<ref name="AJC Office and Departments ">{{cite web |url=http://www.ajc.org/site/c.ijITI2PHKoG/b.789095/k.5F96/Offices_and_Departments.htm |title=AJC Office and Departments |publisher=AJC |access-date=19 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320045656/http://www.ajc.org/site/c.ijITI2PHKoG/b.789095/k.5F96/Offices_and_Departments.htm |archive-date=20 March 2012 }}</ref><ref name="ACJ Activities in Europe">{{cite web |url=http://www.ajc.org/site/c.ijITI2PHKoG/b.835975/k.D5ED/Europe.htm |title=AJC Activities in Europe |publisher=AJC |access-date=19 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411185148/http://www.ajc.org/site/c.ijITI2PHKoG/b.835975/k.D5ED/Europe.htm |archive-date=11 April 2012 }}</ref> a NGO established in 1906, which was a pioneer advocate of the UN Charter's inclusion of international human rights guarantees, and the creation of the post of a High Commissioner of Human Rights.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web |url=http://www.ajc.org/site/c.ijITI2PHKoG/b.5018439/k.A04B/Human_Rights.htm |title=Human Rights – American Jewish Committee |publisher=Ajc.org |access-date=7 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014071315/http://www.ajc.org/site/c.ijITI2PHKoG/b.5018439/k.A04B/Human_Rights.htm |archive-date=14 October 2011 }}</ref>
 
UN Watch has participated in the following UN activities: the [[Commission on Human Rights]], a Panel Discussion on the United Nations and the Middle East, a Panel Discussion on Proposals to Reform the Commission on Human Rights, the Sub-Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, the [[Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination]], and the Working Group on Minorities. A UN Watch seminar in Geneva featured a tour of the [[Palais des Nations]], a visit to the [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum]], and attendance at a meeting of the [[United Nations Convention against Torture#Committee against Torture|Committee Against Torture]] (CAT) with briefings from the Committee's Vice Chair.<ref name="QuadRepo">{{cite web |title=UN: Quadrennial reports 2002–2005 submitted through the Secretary-General pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31 |url=http://esa.un.org/coordination/ngo/session/views/viewer.asp?Document=E/C.2/2007/2/Add.18&Number=4&view=2007_C2_Add_18_e.pdf&jumpto=4&session_db=..%5Cdb%5CPrevious_Sessions%5C2007_Session.mdb |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222042405/http://esa.un.org/coordination/ngo/session/views/viewer.asp?Document=E%2FC.2%2F2007%2F2%2FAdd.18&Number=4&view=2007_C2_Add_18_e.pdf&jumpto=4&session_db=..%5Cdb%5CPrevious_Sessions%5C2007_Session.mdb |archive-date=22 February 2012 |access-date=7 December 2011 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref>
 
In October 2008, UNHCR listed the organization as having a staff of six.<ref>{{cite web|title=UNHCR – UN Watch / United Nations Watch |authorwork=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Non-governmental Organization Directory |publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |date=1 October 2008 |access-date=3 December 2009 |url=http://www.unhcr.org/48fdece221.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218004127/http://www.unhcr.org/48fdece221.html |archive-date=18 February 2010 }}</ref> UN Watch had 110 members in 2007, geographically distributed as follows: 56% from Europe, 38% from North America, and 4% from Oceania. UN Watch's newsletter on UN issues now reaches nearly 5,000 subscribers around the world.<ref name=QuadRepo>{{cite web |url=http://esa.un.org/coordination/ngo/session/views/viewer.asp?Document=E/C.2/2007/2/Add.18&Number=4&view=2007_C2_Add_18_e.pdf&jumpto=4&session_db=..%5Cdb%5CPrevious_Sessions%5C2007_Session.mdb |title=UN: Quadrennial reports 2002–2005 submitted through the Secretary-General pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=7 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222042405/http://esa.un.org/coordination/ngo/session/views/viewer.asp?Document=E%2FC.2%2F2007%2F2%2FAdd.18&Number=4&view=2007_C2_Add_18_e.pdf&jumpto=4&session_db=..%5Cdb%5CPrevious_Sessions%5C2007_Session.mdb |archive-date=22 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 
Commentary from the group has appeared in the [[BBC]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/documentaries/2009/01/090120_rights_and_wrongs.shtml |title=Human Rights and Wrongs at the UN |publisher=BBC |date=21 January 2009 |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> [[Al Jazeera]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Kristen Saloomey in New York |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2009/05/2009511225356810328.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010051612/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2009/05/2009511225356810328.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 October 2012 |title=Debate rages over UN rights council |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> [[Reuters]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=36345 |title=''Reuters'': UN urges China to protect human rights as state denies charges |publisher=Worldbulletin.net |date=9 February 2009 |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> ''[[Washington Post]]'',<ref>{{cite web|last=Rifkin |first=Ira |url=http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2009/04/speaking_truth_to_the_un_human_rights_council.html |title=Guest Voices: Speaking Truth to the UN Human Rights Council |work=Washington Post |date=1 April 2009 |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> [[Agence France-Presse]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-05-26-un-rights-council-divided-over-sri-lanka |agency=AFP |title=UN rights council divided over Sri Lanka |publisher=Mg.co.za |date=26 May 2009 |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> [[Voice of America]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.voanews.com/archive/un-human-rights-council-candidates-raise-concerns |title= UN Human Rights Council Candidates Raise Concerns |work=[[Voice of America]] |date=6 May 2009 |access-date=11 October 2020}}</ref> ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'',<ref>[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Y18reT5YMFoJ:www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite%3Fcid%3D1257770042395%26pagename%3DJPArticle%252FShowFull+http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite%3Fcid%3D1257770042395%26pagename%3DJPArticle%252FShowFull&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk Gold vs Goldstone] ''Jerusalem Post'':</ref> [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,553720,00.html |title=U.S. Taxpayers Pay Millions to Keep Despots Safe at U.N |publisher=Fox News |access-date=7 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023182040/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,553720,00.html |archive-date=23 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Jewish Telegraphic Agency|JTA]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jta.org/news/article/2009/03/12/1003667/un-watchdog-slams-religious-dafamation-resolution |title=U.N. watchdog slams religious defamation resolution |publisher=Jta.org |date=12 March 2009 |access-date=7 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527175110/http://jta.org/news/article/2009/03/12/1003667/un-watchdog-slams-religious-dafamation-resolution |archive-date=27 May 2012 }}</ref> and others.
 
==Board and funding==
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*[[Katrina Lantos Swett]] President of the [[Lantos Foundation]], former Chair of the [[United States Commission on International Religious Freedom]]
*[[David Trimble]], former first [[First Minister of Northern Ireland]] from 1998 to 2002 and the leader of the [[Ulster Unionist Party]]
*[[Gert Weisskirchen]], German politician and former Member of tehthe [[Bundestag]]
 
Former board members include:
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====Congo====
In 2008, UN Watch denounced the elimination of the post of United Nations special rapporteur for the [[Democratic Republic of Congo|Congo]] was eliminated byat the United Nations Human Rights Council. The eliminationwhich was done with the support of [[Egypt]], Algeria, [[Tunisia]], Russia and other countries, following a request by the Congolese administration of President [[Joseph Kabila]]. AccordingOther torights agroups subsequentcalled report prepared byfor the officereestablishment of UNthe Secretarypost.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160118074050/http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLQ538635._CH_.2400 GeneralRights Bangroup Ki-moon,calls bothfor government and rebel forces proceeded to carry out mass killings, rape and tortureU.N. Inapology Novemberover of that year, UN Watch called on the UNHRC to apologize for abolishing theCongo post], andReuters stated26 thatNovember the2008</ref> UNHRCIn should be held to account for theDecember move2009, given the atrocities people there were enduring. UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer said in a statement,total "Morally,of those50 countriesgroupings (onhad the Council) who were behindsigned the elimination of the monitoring mandate in March ought nowappeal to apologiseUN toSecretary theGeneral victimsBan ofKi-moon Congo...and Wehuman willrights neverchief knowNavi how many lives could have been saved if the CouncilPillay, deferringasking to Congo's government, had not caused this unconscionable protection gap which slashed an early-warning mechanism just whenrestore the victimspost neededof it most." OtherUN rights groupsmonitor called for the reestablishment of the postthere.<ref>[https://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20120511070926/http://af.reuters.com/article/idUSLQ538635._CH_.2400topNews/idAFJOE5BM0BC20091223 RightsGroups group callscall for U.N.UN apologyrights overmonitor for Congo post], Reuters, 2623 NovemberDecember 20082009</ref>
 
On 1 December 2009, following atrocities in the eastern Congolese province of [[North Kivu]], the UNHRC condemned abuses against civilians in Congo. UN Watch said it was hoping to see a reassignment of a UN rights expert to the region, and said abuses "making eastern Congo a living hell" needed to be properly investigated.<ref>[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1524457.htm U.N. Human Rights Council condemns abuses in Congo], Reuters 1 December 2009</ref> UN Watch said a total of 50 groupings had signed the appeal to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and human rights chief Navi Pillay, asking to restore the post of UN rights monitor there.<ref>[https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE5BM0BC20091223 Groups call for UN rights monitor for Congo], Reuters, 23 December 2009</ref>
 
====Darfur====
On 27 April 2008, UN Watch joined human rights organizations around the world in launching a "[[Justice for Darfur]]" campaign. The organizations behind the campaign included [[Amnesty International]], [[Human Rights First]] and [[Human Rights Watch]]. The campaign called on the United Nations Security Council, regional organizations and national governments to pressure [[Sudan]] to cooperate with the [[International Criminal Court]], and to arrest suspected war criminals [[Ali Kushayb]] and [[Ahmad Harun]]. The Sudanese government had refused to surrender either suspect to the Court, and had in fact promoted Harun to the position of State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs.<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/quotjustice-darfurquot-campaign-launched-20080425 "Justice for Darfur" Campaign Launched], [[Amnesty International]] 25 April 2008</ref>▼
UN Watch chaired the NGO Activist Summit For [[Darfur]] in 2007.<ref>[http://www.globefordarfur.org/index.php?content=news&include=yes&subsection=reports Globe For Darfur: Reports & Briefs]<blockquote>UN Watch hosted a panel of distinguished speakers, including a Darfur survivor and a UN expert, at its Activist Summit on Darfur today at the UN Office in Geneva</blockquote></ref>
 
▲On 27 April 2008, UN Watch joined human rights organizations around the world in launching a "[[Justice for Darfur]]" campaign. The organizations behind the campaign included [[Amnesty International]], [[Human Rights First]] and [[Human Rights Watch]]. The campaign called on the United Nations Security Council, regional organizations and national governments to pressure [[Sudan]] to cooperate with the [[International Criminal Court]], and to arrest suspected war criminals [[Ali Kushayb]] and [[Ahmad Harun]]. The Sudanese government had refused to surrender either suspect to the Court, and had in fact promoted Harun to the position of State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs.<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/quotjustice-darfurquot-campaign-launched-20080425 "Justice for Darfur" Campaign Launched], [[Amnesty International]] 25 April 2008</ref>
 
====Iran====
UN Watch commended the US, France and other democracies for their “forceful criticism” of Iran's human rights record at a UN hearing in Geneva's UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in February 2010. At the same time, UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer cautioned that the outcome of the council session could be limited to a “toothless” report to be adopted.<ref name="Iran under fire at UNHRC"/>
 
====Haiti====
In the wake of the January [[2010 Haiti earthquake]], the UN Human Rights Council's 47 members unanimously passed a resolution that expressed concern about rights abuses in the wake of the quake and urged the government and aid groups to protect children from violence and exploitation. UN Watch slammed the UN Human Rights Council's two-day special session on Haiti as "a harmful waste of the organization's precious time, resources, and moral capital," adding that the council "has no budget, authority or expertise on humanitarian aid" and "ignores more pressing human rights problems".<ref>[http://www.nwcn.com/news/world/82880492.html UN rights body concerned for Haiti's children] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927154118/http://www.nwcn.com/news/world/82880492.html |date=27 September 2011 }}, AP, 28 January 2010</ref>
 
====Switzerland====
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====2014====
 
UN Watch strongly condemned the 2014 elections of [[Saudi Arabia]], [[China]], [[Cuba]], and [[Russia]] to the Human Rights Council. In an interview by France 24, executive director Hillel Neuer called this a “black day for human rights.”<ref>{{cite avAV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G3JGcGFe08 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/8G3JGcGFe08 |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title='Black Day for Human Rights': Hillel Neuer on France 24 TV|date=12 December 2013|work=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
A campaign to remove these countries from the body, "Dictator-free HRC" is ongoing along with a petition on the organization's website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.genevasummit.org/dictatorfreehrc|title=Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy|work=genevasummit.org|access-date=18 June 2014|archive-date=14 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114102509/http://www.genevasummit.org/dictatorfreehrc|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite avAV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIIiAM1wduA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/YIIiAM1wduA |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=What if dictatorships judged the world on human rights?|date=2 March 2014|work=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
 
===Other UN activities===
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The UN Watch request was covered by the Deutsche Presse Agentur and the ''Khaleej Times''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2009/July/international_July613.xml&section=international&col= |title=UN's Goldstone completes public hearings on Gaza conflict |work=Khaleej Times |date=8 July 2009 |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> and Agence France Presse.<ref name=GazaAFP>{{cite web|first1=Peter |last1=Capella|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gEMY5NvupmG2iAyQwg6C6ehzeWzA |title=UN Gaza probe chief underlines balanced approach |newspaper=Agence France Presse |date=7 July 2009 |access-date=11 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111222162658/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gEMY5NvupmG2iAyQwg6C6ehzeWzA |archive-date=22 December 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> UN Watch further noted that in a May 2009 meeting with Geneva NGOs, Chinkin denied that her impartiality was compromised, saying that her statement only addressed [[jus ad bellum]], and not [[jus in bello]]; however, according to UN Watch, the statement not only determined that "Israel’s actions amount to aggression, not self-defence," but additionally charged that they were "contrary to international humanitarian and human rights law," and constituted "prima facie war crimes."<ref name="LSE Law Professor Urged to Step Down from U.N Gaza Inquiry over Bias">[http://www.unwatch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=bdKKISNqEmG&b=1316871&ct=7315797 LSE Law Professor Urged to Step Down from U.N Gaza Inquiry over Bias] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122061554/http://www.unwatch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=bdKKISNqEmG&b=1316871&ct=7315797 |date=22 November 2009 }}, UN Watch, 20 August 2009.</ref>
 
The inquiry members rejected the petition and said that the mission investigated whether Israel, Hamas or the Palestinian Authority had unnecessarily caused death or injury to innocent civilians by specific acts of armed conflict that violated international humanitarian law and international human rights law stating "On those issues the letter co-signed by Professor Chinkin expressed no view at all."<ref name="Dispute over 'biased' Gaza inquiry professor">[http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/dispute-over-biased-gaza-inquiry-professor Dispute over 'biased' Gaza inquiry professor], TheJC.com, 27 August 2009.</ref><ref name="U.N. Goldstone inquiry rejects ’so-called petition of UN Watch’; denies mission is quasi-judicial" /> The members further wrote in their reply that the fact-finding mission cannot be considered a judicial or even a quasi-judicial proceeding.<ref name="U.N. Goldstone inquiry rejects ’so-called petition of UN Watch’; denies mission is quasi-judicial">[http://blog.unwatch.org/?p=451 U.N. Goldstone inquiry rejects ’so-called petition of UN Watch’; denies mission is quasi-judicial], UN Watch, 30 August 2009</ref> [[Hillel Neuer]], director of UN Watch, said that the arguments raised by the mission ignored the well-established set of standards to international fact-finding missions.<ref name="Gold vs Goldstone">[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Y18reT5YMFoJ:www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1257770042395&pagename=JPArticle%3Fcid%3D1257770042395%26pagename%3DJPArticle%252FShowFull2FShowFull+http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite%3Fcid%3D1257770042395%26pagename%3DJPArticle%252FShowFull&cd?cid=11257770042395&hlpagename=en&ct=clnkJPArticle%2FShowFull Gold vs Goldstone], ''Jerusalem Post''. 11 November 2009</ref> Goldstone said that the letter signed by Chinkin could have been the grounds for disqualification, had the mission been a judicial inquiry.<ref name="Goldstone walks a fine line in an ancient war zone">[http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=77618 Goldstone walks a fine line in an ancient war zone], BusinessDay, 4 August 2009.</ref>
 
====UN anti-Israel bias and antisemitism====
{{further|Israel and the United Nations|UNESCO#Israel}}
UN Watch is active at the UN in combating what it considers anti-Israel and anti-SemitismSemitic attitudes, and what it dubs the selective and politicized treatment of Israel by many UN bodies.<ref name=unwatch-mission-history>{{cite web|title=UN Watch – Mission & History|url=http://www.unwatch.org/site/c.bdKKISNqEmG/b.1313591/k.954F/Mission__History.htm?sid=393986035|access-date=14 March 2014}}</ref> The group supported former Secretary General [[Kofi Annan]]'s declared goal of ending the UN's imbalanced treatment of Israel<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forward.com/articles/9702/ |title=Annan Made the Nations a Little Less United Against Israel |work=Forward |date=23 December 2006 |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> and has been highly critical of the [[United Nations Human Rights Council]].<ref name="jewishtimes.com" /><ref name="jta.org" /><ref name="npr.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101794922&ft=1&f=1001 |title=''National Public Radio'': Zionism Debate Clouds U.N. Racism Forum |publisher=Npr.org |date=12 March 2009 |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has described U.N. Watch as a pro-Israel organization.<ref>{{cite web |author=Abraham H. Foxman |url=http://jta.org/news/article/2008/09/08/110272/pillaydurban |title=''JTA'': U.N. rights chief praises Durban II |publisher=Jta.org |date=8 September 2008 |access-date=7 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527175645/http://jta.org/news/article/2008/09/08/110272/pillaydurban |archive-date=27 May 2012 }}</ref>
 
=====March 2007 UNHRC speech=====
On 23 March 2007, UN Watch's Hillel Neuer delivered a harshly critical speech to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), stating that the Council had betrayed the dreams of its founders and become "a nightmare". Neuer charged that the Council ignores human rights abuses worldwide, opting instead to enact "one resolution after another condemning one single state: Israel". He further argued that the Council's stated concern for Palestinian human rights is deceptive, and provided examples where he said it ignored atrocities against Palestinians "because Israel could not be blamed. … The despots who run this Council couldn’t care less about Palestinians, or about any human rights. They seek to demonize Israeli democracy, to delegitimize the Jewish state, to scapegoat the Jewish people."<ref name=sun>{{cite web|url=http://www.nysun.com/article/51521 |title=I Will Not Express Thanks |date=30 March 2007 |work=The New York Sun |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref>
 
Neuer's speech was praised in a number of editorials and op-eds. ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' opined that Neuer's candor disrupted the Council's "obfuscation" and "fraudulence".<ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117522153592554150.html Your U.N. at Work], ''Wall Street Journal'' 30 March 2007</ref> An op-ed writer in ''The National Post'' stated that the speech became "a major hit on YouTube".<ref>[https://archive.today/20120527092632/http://www.nationalpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=fd791fde-3d3a-4cf5-a74a-3b25b0fd882e&k=27205 Degeneration in all but reputation], ''National Post'' 23 May 2009</ref> In its editorial, ''[[The New York Sun]]'' called it a rare "diplomatic moment to remember", and published the full text of his remarks.<ref name=sun>{{cite web|url=http://www.nysun.com/article/51521 |title=I Will Not Express Thanks |date=30 March 2007 |work=The New York Sun |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> [[Alan Gold (author)|Alan Gold]], an Australian human rights activist, opined Neuer's speech was "a non-government organisation laying bare the mendacity and prejudice of a key UN body."<ref>[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/alan-gold-new-name-but-the-shame-is-still-the-same/story-0-1111113353237 "New name, but the shame is still the same"], ''The Australian'',</ref>
 
Ian Williams, writing for [[The Guardian]], accepted Neuer's points about the hypocritical double standards in the UN regarding Israel and several nations: Israel is the focus of censure, while criticism of many despotic countries is passed over. The hypocrisy however, he concludes, extends to UN Watch itself, whose credibility is, in his view, undermined by the organisation's failure to provide evidence that it has ever condemned 'manifest Israeli transgressions of the human rights of Palestinians.'<ref>Ian Williams, [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/apr/04/itwasamakemydayevent 'Casting the first stone,'] [[The Guardian]] 4 April 2007</ref>
 
===Other===
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UN Watch, the [[World YWCA]], and the World Alliance of YMCAs published a statement against sexual exploitation and child pornography. "Today far too many children are sexually exploited and abused causing lifelong damage. More than two million children are exploited in the multibillion-dollar sex industry each year and 1.2 million children are trafficked annually", the statement said.<ref name=YMCA>[https://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/policyandpublicaffairs/europe/briefings/statement_on_repealing_council_framework_decision_on_sexual_exploitation_wdf69668.pdf NGO Statement on the Revision of the Council Framework Decision on combating the sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of children and child-pornography], repealing Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA</ref>
 
==Reception history==
Former UN Secretary General [[Kofi Annan]] has said "I deeply appreciate the valuable work performed by UN Watch. I believe that informed and independent evaluation of the United Nations' activities will prove a vital source as we seek to adapt the Organization to the needs of a changing world."<ref name=kofi1>{{cite web|url=http://www.charitywire.com/charity11/00664.html |title=UN Watch, AJC Seal Partnership |publisher=Charitywire.com |access-date=7 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026095608/http://www.charitywire.com/charity11/00664.html |archive-date=26 October 2011 }}</ref><ref name=kofi2>{{cite web |url=http://www.tibet.net/en/print.php?id=973&articletype=flashold |title=''Central Tibetan Administration'': UN Watch urges UN to discuss human rights violations in Tibet |publisher=Tibet.net |access-date=7 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025114440/http://www.tibet.net/en/print.php?id=973&articletype=flashold |archive-date=25 October 2011 }}</ref> At the 2006 Centennial Anniversary of the American Jewish Committee, the Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, [[Sergei Ordzhonikidze]], praised the work of UN Watch by saying "allow me to also pay tribute to the valuable work of UN Watch in support of the just application of values and principles of the United Nations Charter and support for human rights for all."<ref name=sergei>{{cite web|url=http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/dg.nsf/(httpSpeechesByYear_en)/2C604C43486FB758C12571380047AE01?OpenDocument&year=2006&navunid=DA1302D9298CEF1E80256EF700760B0B |title=''The United Nations Office at Geneva'': The Centennial Anniversary of the American Jewish Committee |publisher=Unog.ch |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref>
 
Ian Williams, former president of the [[United Nations Correspondents Association]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=1814 |title=''United Nations'': Remarks Prepared for Delivery at the United Nations Correspondents Association Dinner |publisher=United Nations |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> and author of ''The UN For Beginners'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenation.com/authors/ian-williams |title=Ian Williams |work=The Nation |date=2 April 2010 |access-date=16 September 2014}}</ref> wrote in an opinion piece in ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 2007 that the main objective of UN Watch "is to attack the United Nations in general, and its human rights council in particular, for alleged bias against Israel". Williams supported UN Watch's condemnation of the UN Human Rights Council as a hypocritical organization, but also accused UN Watch itself of hypocrisy for failing to denounce what he called "manifest Israeli transgressions against the human rights of Palestinians."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/apr/04/itwasamakemydayevent Casting the first stone] ''The Guardian'', 4 April 2007.</ref>
 
''[[The New Republic]]''{{'}}s [[Martin Peretz]], in a 2007 blog piece, described the organization as "a truth-telling organization."<ref>[https://www.tnr.com/blog/the-spine/un-truth-telling U.N. Truth Telling] The New Republic Online, 18 June 2007.</ref> [[Claudia Rosett]], a journalist-in-residence with the conservative [[Foundation for Defense of Democracies]], praised UN Watch as "stalwart and invaluable".<ref>{{cite web |author=Claudia Rosett |url=http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NWZlZmYwY2ZkNWMyYTMyNjhmYTdkNGU1OTY3ZTM4MmI= |title=National Review Online, June 20, 2007 |publisher=Article.nationalreview.com |date=20 June 2007 |access-date=7 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202110410/http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NWZlZmYwY2ZkNWMyYTMyNjhmYTdkNGU1OTY3ZTM4MmI%3D |archive-date=2 December 2007 }}</ref>
 
The American journalist and political activist [[Phyllis Bennis]] described UN Watch as a "small Geneva-based right-wing organisation" that is "hardly known outside of UN headquarters".<ref name="auto">{{cite web|author=Phyllis Bennis |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/01/20131781532514238.html |title=Human Rights Watch: Time to stand with human rights defenders, January 9, 2013 |publisher=Al Jazeera (English) |date=9 January 2013 |access-date=7 September 2015}}</ref> She stressed that "undermining and delegitimising" [[Richard A. Falk|Richard Falk]] through "scurrilous accusations" has been an "obsession of UN Watch" when he became Special Rapporteur.<ref>{{cite web|authorname=Phyllis Bennis |url=http:"auto"//www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/01/20131781532514238.html |title=Human Rights Watch: Time to stand with human rights defenders, January 9, 2013 |publisher=Al Jazeera (English) |date=9 January 2013 |access-date=7 September 2015}}</ref>
 
''[[Agence France-Presse]]'' has described UN Watch both as "a lobby group with strong ties to Israel".<ref name=GazaAFP /> and as a group which "champion[s] human rights worldwide".<ref name=AFP2>6 May 2008, [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hQys9g2BgfcCRuQJoyEjphZGZbpA NGOs say five nations unfit to serve on UN rights body], AFP 6 May 2008</ref> ''[[The Economist]]'' has described UN Watch as a "pro-Israeli monitor".<ref>{{cite news|title=The UN Human Rights Council will be weaker if America leaves|url=https://www.economist.com/news/international/21722827-despite-its-flaws-organisation-helps-make-world-better-place-un-human-rights|access-date=2 June 2017|worknewspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=1 June 2017}}</ref>
 
==References==
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==Further reading==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070506114731/http://podcast.shirenetworknews.net/:entry:tuatara-2007-04-01-0000/ Hillel Neuer of UN Watch interviewed on Shire Network News]
* [http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=3&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=253&PID=0&IID=581&TTL=The_Struggle_against_Anti-Israel_Bias_at_the_UN_Commission_on_Human_Rights The Struggle against Anti-Israel Bias at the UN Commission on Human Rights – Hillel C. Neuer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608075633/http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=3&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=253&PID=0&IID=581&TTL=The_Struggle_against_Anti-Israel_Bias_at_the_UN_Commission_on_Human_Rights |date=8 June 2011 }}
 
==External links==
* [http://www.unwatch.org/ Official website]
* [http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/UN_Watch UN Watch], [[Institute for Policy Studies]] – ''Right Web'', Tracking militarists’ efforts to influence U.S. foreign policy.
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Un Watch}}
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